Fukushima Radiation May Be Increasing Pediatric Thyroid Cancer Rates

the ONA take:

Children living near the Fukushima nuclear meltdowns in Japan have a much higher rate of thyroid cancer diagnoses than that of children elsewhere, a new study published online ahead of print this week in the journal Epidemiology has shown.

Of the 137,000 children living in the Fukushima prefecture that have undergone ultrasound checkups since the March 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant meltdowns after a tsunami ravaged the area, 137 have suspected or confirmed thyroid cancer as of August 2015—an increase of 25 cases from 1 year prior.

Compared with children living elsewhere, thyroid cancer occurs in approximately one or two of every million children per year.

"This is more than expected and emerging faster than expected," lead author Toshihide Tsuda, a professor at Okayama University, said. "This is 20 times to 50 times what would be normally expected."

Other researchers believe the increased rates of thyroid cancer may be attributable to increased screening.

“Dr. Tsuda's study had limitations including assessment of individual radiation dose levels to the thyroid and the ability to fully assess the impact of screening on the excess cases detected,” Andrew F. Olshan, professor at the Department of Epidemiology at the University of North Carolina, in Chapel Hill said.

Children living near the Fukushima nuclear meltdowns in Japan have a much higher rate of thyroid cancer diagnoses than that of children elsewhere.

A new study says children living near the Fukushima nuclear meltdowns have been diagnosed with thyroid cancer at a rate 20 to 50 times that of children elsewhere, a difference the authors contend undermines the government's position that more cases have been discovered in the area only because of stringent monitoring.